Interview: Bad Bearth

Bad Bearth is here to challenge everything you think you know about hip-hop music. The New Jersey-based group released their first EP, Elephant in the Womb, earlier this year and it’s something everyone needs to experience.

It’s experimental. It’s weird. It’s mind-blowing. But describing Elephant in the Womb as hip-hop doesn’t do it much justice. There are psychedelic elements I’ve never experienced before and there are rap lyrics about ugly babies. But it’s so much more.

What really matters to Bad Bearth is how the EP makes you feel.

Elephant in the Womb is an intoxicating haze of good vibes. It’s the rush of adrenaline while you’re making bad decisions with your friends. It decorates space and time with swirling lyrics about anger, pleasure, humor and isolation.

Their featured track, “Bad Idea,” captures Bad Bearth’s essence in one song. It opens with a slow, pounding rhythm, as if to match your thudding heartbeat when you’re already too deep into a mistake. The lyric, “We all must live with what we do” weaves itself in and out of your consciousness. The song is eerily carefree–you know you messed up, but you don’t have to face reality yet.

Elephant in the Womb is an experience and we recommend consuming it for the first time without any distractions. Sit alone on your living room floor at night and close your eyes. Let every wave roll through.

Leaving an aura of mystery behind their short answers, they make it clear that the music does the talking.

___

Indie Soul Media: How long have you been Bad Bearth? Who are your members and how many do you have?

Bad Bearth: We linked up a little over a year ago. Our members include:

LJA – Vocals and Guitar

Smokey – Synths

Producer – Roper Williams

plus whoever else wants to work with us that day.

ISM: How long did it take you to create Elephant in the Womb?

BB: We started working on the album once we decided we should be a band.

ISM: It’s very apparent in “Elephant in the Womb” that you don’t define yourself by a genre. Each song is so unique on it’s own and yet the album as a whole makes sense. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

BB: Our sound is anger coming from a loving place.

ISM: Why do you gravitate toward this style?

BB: We create music based on feeling. One day we may be singing about isolation. Another day we might be rapping about ugly babies. Our thoughts and feelings determine the style/sound.

ISM: The songwriting is awesome. What does it look like for your group when you’re creating and layering sounds together?

BB: Thank you. We appreciate that. When it comes to songwriting we always like to try new things; anything to make a song sound better. We’re a nocturnal band, and almost always work on music late at night/very early in the morning.

ISM: Is there a backstory to Bad Idea? How was this song inspired?

BB: Bad Idea is inspired by personal experience. It is about facing reality and learning things the hard way.

ISM: What does this EP mean to you?

BB: It’s our first born.

ISM: What do you hope to accomplish as Bad Bearth?

BB: We are never looking too far ahead. We just want our music out there for people to hear.

ISM: Are you touring or plan to in the future?

BB: We would love to go on a tour. We definitely see touring in our future.